Tailypo

October 31, 20121 Comment

Halloween week has brought 25 degree days and snow even!

Our poor little frozen pumpkins.

The kids have not been as excited about Halloween this year as in past years. We went to Target a few weeks ago to find costumes – Maria picked up some sleazy adult ones and when I nixed them, she went for the cowgirl costume. Mario debated between a few – I pushed for the Hulk – but ended up with a Redaki costume (only because it had a sweet mask). And after that trip to Target, there has not been much ado about Halloween. In years past, they would have been begging to change their costume after seeing a cooler one on tv or they would have been asking how many days until Halloween. Do they already feel too old to celebrate?!

Ri probably does based on her comment this morning to me. I bought her a turtleneck with gold stars on it to match her cowgirl outfit and she refused to wear it swearing that she “looks like a sissy baby in it.” Attire choices in the teenage years are gonna be horrid.

Mario is just way too focused on hunting with his dad this weekend to care about Halloween. Either that or his teacher, Mr. Park, has scared the zest for Halloween out of him by reading him the book, Tailypo. This past weekend, Jon was upstairs and Mario was downstairs. Jon heard a wail and shouted down to Mario. Mario continued to wail at the top of his lungs and had giant tears falling down his face when he ran up to Jon.
“I saw a monster downstairs. We read a story about a monster whose tail gets cut off and a man eats it and the monster kills the man to get it back. I’m scared of that monster.”

He slept with his arm on Jon’s body all night. Each night since, he has begged for me to go upstairs with him to get dressed because he’s so scared of the dark. He has slept in our bed way too many nights due to Tailypo. Thanks, Mr. Park.

The kids got a bit more into the spirit of Halloween on Monday night when we went to Ri’s school for pumpkin carving. I sported a huge cutting knife in my satchel, which felt very awkward carrying into a school. I bought two huge pumpkins to carve since the kids were not impressed with the baby ones I brought home last week. Maria went to town on her pumpkin but Mario ran around like a mad man playing with our next door neighbors’ kid, Paxton. He finally sat himself down to carve when Paxton tired out.

As we were carving, they drew a kid’s name every half hour. The winner got a small prize. Paxton won the first time. Mario and I were almost finished carving his pumpkin when they drew names again. They drew Mario’s name! He was charged up and came running back to me saying “I won!” A few minutes later, I deciphered what he meant by “I won” when he said “I won first place because my pumpkin is cool.” I explained to him that names were drawn and that’s how he and Paxton won a prize but he wanted nothing of that explanation. Now I know how scientists feel when they are talking cold hard facts about climate change and people dismiss them as not true. Mario refused to believe that he won for any other reason than he was the best. Imagine that.

So here we are on Halloween day. Hurricane Sandy blew in on Monday night and her remnants are still felt in Ohio (our love and support for the East Coast residents). It’s cold and rainy and grey. It’s supposed to rain during trick-or-treat tonight. But I think the kids will be ok with it based on their chill attitudes so far. I, on the other hand, am supremely upset because I look forward to mounds of candy to pick from all week long. Looks like I will have to hit the stores tomorrow for the 50% off sales.

Grandma get-away

October 29, 2012October 29, 2012Leave a comment

Which lady is over the age of 70? I know – the immediate answer is “none.” My sister-in-law and I are 40 and our kids haven’t quite aged us enough to look 70 (although we have our days). Whereas my mother-in-law, Patty, looks like she’s 40 with her infectious smile and petite frame and zest for life when she’s really 70+ years old! Every person who meets her is floored when they find out her age (do her genes transfer to me since I married into the family?!).

I’ve been thinking of her a lot lately because she’s been under the weather and has not been able to engage in all of the activities she is used to engaging in on a daily basis such as a mile swim, lifting weights and fast walking (yeah, all of those activities might occur in one day’s time.) She is a machine.

Nonetheless, she still managed to take Maria and Alana two weekends ago and treat them to a raucous good time in Marion. Before they headed up to Marion on Friday night, she took the girls to Tuttle Mall. They got treated to a shopping spree at Justice. She even let them shop by themselves while she and Joe waited outside the doors – pure heaven for the girls who felt independent and cool not having an adult in the store with them. Little does Patty know that she provided them with quite the memory; Maria still talks about that shopping experience today and insists that she will go by herself next time we go.

Patty also took them to the indoor playground where Maria took off her shoes and stunk up the place. My girl does not believe in wearing socks so her shoes smell horrendous. Patty had to buy her socks and clean her shoes. Poor grandma! She called me to tell me in her sweet Patty-fashion. She never comes at me accusatory or obnoxiously. She started out with a recap of what they did that evening and then proceeds into it like any other incident. But I knew at that point that we needed to get on that girl to wear socks. And don’t you know that Patty must have said something to her to get her to turn around because she is wearing socks this week. Only grandma….

Patty took them to a Halloween party in the neighborhood on Saturday night. She bought them witch costumes and all. Spoiled, they are. They both had a blast and talked about it throughout the next day. All of this and she wasn’t even feeling that great.

The day after the party, the hostess asked Patty if Ri had fun. Patty said “of course” and the hostess said “I just couldn’t tell with her.” Maria is her father when it comes to showing her emotions. She could be having a blast and you’d never be able to tell.

Patty also described to me how Alana kept talking about her school friend, Riley. Maria got sick of hearing about Riley every two seconds so when Alana began to mention her again, Maria chimed in with “we know, we know, Riley has that sweater!” And when Patty asked Maria if she wanted a shirt that she was buying for Alana because Riley had one, Ri promptly replied “no way.”

I don’t know how Patty stays sane at times with these two but I am so glad that the girls can spend time together (even if they act like the Bickerson twins, as Patty affectionately terms them). I always wished that my cousin and I spent more time together growing up. And it’s nice they have a separate place to stay outside of their homes – it creates more of a get-away to them. And Patty lets them do their thing – be it shopping by themselves or playing on the computer or hitting a Halloween party and running around with other kids.

Jon always teases me and Patty about our big mouths, our desire to always engage in conversation, and our inability to sit still. I tell him he married his mom. He shuts up after that.

I do see a lot of me in her. We have similar personalities and that’s why I just want to see her feeling back to her normal self. I know how hard it was when I got pneumonia and couldn’t do anything. I was stir-crazy. So, here’s to Patty feeling better – watch out YMCA – she will be back soon with a vengeance!

Here come the O-O-Overbecks

October 22, 2012October 22, 2012Leave a comment

Two out of the four Overbeck kids arrived at our house on Sunday morning at 2 am. Laura and Cy tip-toed up the stairs to Mario’s room and fell asleep. Mario and Gio wanted to wake them up so badly at 7:30 am but I kept them away by promising them donuts and sprints at the track (sounds just like a Big Mac and a diet coke).

When we returned full of yeast and sugar and lactic acid, Laura was awake and watching football with Jon. Cy was still snoozing (17 year old boy for ya). When Cy finally woke up, Mario and Gio descended on him like flies on fruit. They jumped on him and wrestled him and dragged him to the basement to play Lego’s. He obeyed their every command and helped erect some sweet Lego structures.

We had to feed the 6’7″ cuz eventually so we headed to Skyline for some Cincy chili. Maria told Laura scary stories she heard at her party in Marion and Laura diligently listened to all of them. Mario told Cy about his football games (“we always win except one time we tied and the whole team was sad”). We chowed down at Skyline eating coney dogs and three-ways and mounds of oyster crackers. And we all could have went home and slept for four hours – that is, the adults could have. M&M were pumped to have their cousins around and clung to them like koalas to eucalyptus.

Laura took Maria to Target and Loews to buy cork board and supplies for a necklace holder. Cy stayed back with us and played hours of basketball with Mario. Only a high school basketball player could endure shooting hundreds of times with a five-year old. Mario loved having Cy watch his every move, and Cy treated him like a little brother. It was very sweet.

Laura and Ri brought both supplies and another Overbeck, Robert back to the house (the last Overbeck kid, Emily, is in Colorado and couldn’t fly back for the fun!). Mario got Cy and Robert to pal around with? What a day for the little man!

Maria got her Laura time – spray painting her cork board pink and preparing to liven up her room. Thank god for Laura and her crafting skill because I have none of it (check out her blog!). An hour later, Ri led me, eyes closed, to her room to check out the new necklace holder. What a kick-butt, bright pink, functional wall decoration. Laura rocks it out again.

After all that madness, the Skyline finally set in. Everyone got in relaxed mode (even M&M!) and settled down while Jon and I cooked dinner (yes, miracles do happen). Jon and I cracked up when we glanced into the living room only to see these high school macho boys watching the “Bodyguard” movie with Whitney Houston. They were all into it.

And just when our stomachs finally felt at peace, we were ready to eat again! Jon made soup with meat, spinach, onions and beans (we still need a name for it) and I made corn bread and scalloped potatoes. Jon kept pushing me to try the soup and when I finally did, he asked “do you like the meat?” I knew this was a different kind of meat at that point and just hoped it wasn’t squirrel.

But no, it was elk and it tasted good. Listen, my man doesn’t go to the grocery to buy meat; he goes out and hunts it down! Jon shot this elk last year in Colorado and we are still trying to eat up all the meat.

Maria did not have the same reaction. She put down her spoon after Jon’s declaration and stuck with the potatoes and bread (and lots of it!). Mario tried the elk and ate two pieces (a lot for him). He also battled the boys while they teased him about eating his food (any thing to try to get that boy to eat).

After dinner, we engaged in some pick up basketball. The boys laughed hysterically at the PIG game that Jon and I played. It was a pathetic sight, especially to two b-ball players. Laura couldn’t help but feel sorry for us.

The fun had to eventually end with school and work in the horizon, and so it did at 6:30 when the Overbecks plopped in their car and drove off. “That was fun, mom,” Maria said as she jumped in my arms. Yes, it was. Those Overbecks know how to bring it!

Boys

October 19, 2012Leave a comment

“When I grow up I want to be a little boy.” – Joseph Heller

Gio descended on our house tonight and Mario and him have been moving and shaking ever since. They played guns in Mario’s room, fought dragons, and played Wii. All within 15 minutes. I calmed them down for a small amount of time with a science project in the kitchen. We made a volcano with baking soda and vinegar and food coloring. The boys thought it was cool for five seconds and then they dug their fingers into the hole of the volcano and scraped out the baking soda and food coloring in order to smear it on themselves. Really?!

Next, I had them color paper plates in order to make macarenas. They colored for about three minutes and were ready for the next project, which ended up being a concert for me. They crooned and played their instruments while I cheered them on in the basement. They actually performed for me for a good chunk of time. Impressive. Then they moved on to wrestling and pillow fighting, which was still going on an hour later. I guess they can handle long spurts of violent activity.

Dealing with boys is a 180 degree difference from dealing with girls. Maria and Alana would have been up in Ri’s room for hours before I saw them and then they’d have spent time coloring or playing a card game or watching a movie (they are loving life together at grandma’s and grandpa’s house this weekend).

At 9 pm, I put on Spider-Man for the boys and they still jumped all over each other.
I want that energy.
Now.
Can I usurp it from them?
They just keep going and going and going. I realized that the only thing that settles them down is feeding them a bunch of junk so they get lazy from full stomachs. We brought out the Pringles and sugar after a bit. They looked like little old men eating in their beanbags.

The Pringles did the trick.

I have a bit of fear in my blood about a full day with these young men tomorrow. My desire to get out and stay active will undoubtedly be met but will it come at the cost of a headache from popping around all over the place? I’m tempted to rent a bouncey house and let them jump in it all day while I rake the leaves and listen to NPR. But then I’d miss out on the concerts and the science fairs and I just can’t bear that thought even with as exhausted as they make me.

Parenting Advice – Show the Love

October 18, 2012October 18, 20122 Comments

A friend forwarded this Article to me this morning. It reinforces one of my strongest beliefs as a parent: always show kids constant love and support, and don’t freak out over superficial crap. I love Toni Morrison’s story in the article. Greet your child with a smile, a hug, an “I love you” before anything else. Foster joy and wonder and commitment.

I remember scouring over parenting books when I was pregnant with Maria and reviewing the same books when pregnant with Mario. Deep down, I think I knew their limitations. They acted more like a security blanket for me as I approached being a new mom. But I remember also rolling my eyes while reading the books and thinking “they really believe they can pinpoint every move a mom should make with a child?”

One of my biggest pet peeves is self-righteousness, and a lot of articles espouse advice as if it’s the golden rule. You don’t follow it, and boy, you are a horrid parent. But this article reinforces the importance of the intangibles in childrens’ lives – the kiss on the forehead when they are heading off to school, the dance party you start up while listening to Bieber, the pat on the back when they find their shoes on their own (and in this family, that merits at least one Oreo with the pat!).

Cheers for guests

October 15, 2012October 15, 2012Leave a comment

Maria cheered her final cheer of the season this past Saturday. She woke up complaining of a belly ache but cranked out the entire game nonetheless (later in that day she boasted that “[her friend’s name] would have cried and not cheered but not me – I am strong and don’t give up!).

Meg and dad came to watch her cheer and were quite amused at how distracted she was while cheering. She’d begin a cheer with gusto and then someone would pass by and she’d stare at him or her. She’d make some random sways while staring but her mouth produced no cheers and no hand movements occurred. She’s got her daddy’s innate desire to be aware of everything around her at all times. Meg and dad also got a kick out of her “boom” cheer where she swings her hips to the side… she performs it a little too well.

After cheering, dad headed back to the farm and Meg enjoyed some b-ball with Mario. Ri and I found the frisbee and pretty soon Mario joined while Meg checked out the flowers on the patio. I love playing frisbee with the kids. It’s the one activity we are all good at playing. Ri’s got a heck of an arm and Mario catches zingers. They were cracking Meg up with their sidebars (Ri’s commands and instructions to me and Mario’s dance moves after each catch).

We hung out waiting for Meg’s friend, Suze and her kids to arrive. Suze came to town and painted a rooster on the side of Meg’s and dad’s barn and she and her kids were flying out of Columbus back to Arizona on Sunday. Her rooster is absolutely Incredible. What a talent!

You would have thought we fed Mario speed when Suze and her kids walked in the door. He zoomed around the house squealing and finding random objects to show Suze’s son, Ian. He blasted “Sexy and I know it” on the CD and danced around the family room. He tackled Ian. Pure Madness. Meanwhile, Ri gawked at Suze’s daughter, Sedona, hanging on her every word, and tried to show off to her by being quite sassy with me (“get me a drink, mom…now…”). I had to pull her and Mario aside and give them a little talk in order to avoid going off on them in front of our guests. They calmed down after the talk to the point of being half way normal. Ri loved hearing about Ian’s and Sedona’s school stories and Mario loved having an audience to watch him play iPhone games. Ri lasted until 11 pm and Mario until 11:30. Party animals they are.

Sunday morning was idyllic. We woke up to 65 degree weather after a cold week. Mario and I ran five miles in the stroller and met Meg, Suze, Sedona and Maria at Stauf’s. I loved starting my day with a run, sipping coffee, chatting with funny gals, and people watching.

We ran home and rushed around to get ready for a trip to Cincy. Mario cranked out some push-ups for Sedona before we left and Maria chided Ian about sleeping on her pillows. Whoo, those two may think twice about a return trip! Meg and I were getting snacks ready in the kitchen. She turned to me as I loaded up the pretzels and remarked “You are such a good mom.” It came out of the blue and took me aback. Funny how six words can cause such emotion. It meant a lot to me coming from a fellow mom, and the woman who helped raise me and whose opinion I hold dear.

We gave our hugs to the crew and headed to southern Ohio for some pumpkin patch fun with my best girlfriends (minus my girl Kath who had to head back to Michigan with her newborn baby, Rose) and my mama. When we returned, I had a most delicious treat from Suze – brownies from the Bon Bonerie in Cincy. One for me, Mario and Ri. Heaven.

Spiderman wants costumes!

October 12, 2012October 12, 2012Leave a comment

Maria’s teacher again came through and agreed to partner with me on a project to collect Halloween costumes for homeless kids in Columbus. I printed handouts for the kids to send home in their book bags and took them to school during lunch. Maria wanted me to stay in her class to talk about the project but I was running late. She started to sulk and I was trying to cheer her up (“we’ll get ice cream later!” – why do I always use food?!) when her teacher came by and recommended that we make a video talking about the project for the kids to watch at school the next day.
Maria loved the idea! Gotta love Ms. Palmer – she got me out of the school tear-free. Maria and Mario came up with the above video for her school mates that night. Mario always begs to be famous and after they made this video, he asked “do you think I’ll be on the news?”
He’s always trying….

All Italian

October 7, 2012October 10, 2012Leave a comment

This girl is Italian through and through.
At age 1, she met her first love – spaghetti and meatballs. She’s only added to her Italian plate since then…italian bread and olive oil, cheeses, and now wine.
Yep, that’s our girl making wine with Jon and his cousins last weekend in Dover. She will go to any length for her Italian meal.
I should have known she’d pick Jon’s Italian ancestory over my German roots and opt to make red wine over wiener schnitzel. After all, when I told her she was half German and half Italian at age 4, her response was “I want to be all Italian!”
Hey, at least I get to indulge in good wine all winter.

Taking care of mom

October 2, 2012Leave a comment

What did I do after work before M&M? I thought about that question a great deal tonight as they watched Ben Ten before bedtime. I have been fighting a nasty cold that has my head pounding and my nose bright red and raw and when 5:00 rolls around all I want to do is go to bed.

But then I walk in the door to two kids that squeal “Mom!” and wrap their bodies around me and suddenly my head and nose play second fiddle. “Mom” is needed and no pounding head or raw nose can stand in the way. There is no time to feel bad for myself, to slouch across the recliner and veg. There is dinner to make, homework to review, and baths to prepare (who am I kidding – we are lucky if we get baths in every other day! They’ve probably added two years to my life span with the way they keep me moving.
This morning Mario jumped in bed at 6:30 am and begged for a stroller ride. Ri pounced on me a few minutes later. And we were off by 7 am to Stauf’s for black russian bagels and cream cheese. Ri was not happy with my purchase at first; she wanted a chocolate chip scone. But when she had no choice, she ate the bagel and to her chagrin, loved it. She felt bad for raggin’ on me and took the stroller telling me “she’d help her old lady stroll Mario.” Mario, meanwhile took down his half of the bagel and then my entire bagel on the ride to school. I about passed out – my Mario would never have accomplished that feat. We are usually lucky to get him to take a bite. He must be going through a growing spurt.

It was pouring rain on my bike ride home tonight, and as I pulled up to our driveway, Mario and Ri stood on the grass waiting for me. Ri had a blanket that she draped over me and Mario had a glass of water for me inside. My caretakers.
I asked them what they wanted for dinner and Ri begged to go out to eat. I ignored her for a bit as I watched Mario play Wii but then she approached me with a hat full of papers.
“Pick one, mom.”
I reached in and grabbed a piece of paper that had “Jason’s Deli” written on it. She also had Bob Evans on one, Home, and Knotty Pine. A little game to get me excited about dinner out. Mario begged for Bob Evans so Ri made me draw another piece of paper until I chose Bob’s.

I think the gods were trying to tell me something by making it so difficult to select Bob from the group; after dinner my stomach joined my head and nose in pain. Luckily, my girl found some Tums for me.

Scarves

October 1, 20121 Comment

Maria came downstairs today and breezed past me. I caught a glimpse of olive and white and looked around to see my mom’s old scarf wrapped around her neck and trailing down her back.

She’s not old enough to remember my mom wearing this scarf but I can still see my mom sitting at the Alpha restaurant waiting for me to arrive to Sunday brunch with that scarf wrapped loosely around her neck.

My little sis played dress-up with my mom’s scarves. The scarves hung in the upstairs hallway – a tapestry of cloth and color when you reached the last stair. Sarah wrapped them around
her and pranced around the house like a nymph. She still loves those scarves and Maria only knows of them because of seeing Sarah wear them on the holidays when we get together. But those brief moments have made an indelible mark on Ri who carries on the style.

I watched an inspiring TED video after I dropped my scarf-wearing girl off at school. The video left me feeling grateful for all the incredible women in my life and now my daughter’s life. And it also left me wanting to remember back and tell more stories….

"MOM!"

Adventures in the Life of a Working Mama

Category: Family